Guy Ritchie Movies
A director who had more of a critical and financial success with his first film than many of his colleagues have had over the course of their entire careers, Guy Ritchie became one of Britain's most talked-about directors on the strength of his 1998 debut, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. A highly stylized crime caper/black comedy set in London's East End, it inspired favorable comparisons to films ranging from Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs to the Hong Kong crime spectaculars of John Woo.The film's decidedly irreverent sensibility was an appropriate one, given the background of its director. Born in London in 1968, Ritchie hails from a proudly working-class background and never attended film school. He regarded the work of most film school graduates as "unwatchable and boring" and the British film industry as suffering from a creative void. Feeling strongly compelled to fill this void, Ritchie thus embarked on Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. It was to be a long and difficult journey, as the director and his producer struggled for three years to find funding and repeatedly met with rejection from various members of the British film establishment. Finally, salvation came through in the form of PolyGram, and the film's eventual huge success all but ensured that Ritchie would never have to endure similar funding hardship again.
Ritchie followed up Lock, Stock with Snatch, another crime caper, this time set in London's Jewish diamond district. With a cast that featured many of the Lock, Stock players and American support from the likes of Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro, the 2000 feature was treated with significant anticipation on both sides of the Atlantic. Though many viewed Snatch as a simple carbon-copy of his previous success, the film nevertheless retained the giddy energy and humor that had made Lock, Stock so successful and found both Pitt and Del Toro at their quirky best.
Wed to Madonna in December of 2000, the duo would soon find themselves working together while collaborating on a remake of the 1974 Lina Wertmuller comedy Swept Away. Yet another in the long running series of cinematic mishaps for the sultry pop diva, Swept Away (2002) survived a mere fortnight in stateside theaters before being relegated a straight to video release in Ritchie's native England. On a more positive note, the happy couple gave birth to their first child, Rocco, in early August of 2000. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 2011
DC Comics' two-fisted, beer-swillin' bounty hunter, Lobo, makes his trip to feature film-land with this Warner Bros. production, spear-headed by director Guy Ritchie. Don Payne provides the scripting duties on a story that sees the heavy metal antihero making his way to Earth to hunt down three intergalactic outlaws. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2009
- PG13
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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous super-sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, gets an update with this adaptation of Lionel Wigram's comic book series by writer/director Guy Ritchie (RocknRolla) starring Robert Downey Jr. as the titular detective, with Jude Law stepping into the shoes of his sidekick, Dr. Watson. Heading up the rest of the cast are RocknRolla's Mark Strong as the film's villain, Blackwood, and Rachel McAdams portraying the love interest, Irene Adler. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, (more)
- 2009
Virgin Comics' series The Gamekeeper is being developed for a movie treatment by book creator and filmmaker Guy Ritchie. The revenge tale follows a country caretaker who hunts the city streets for the killer of his son by adapting his keen ability to understanding animal behaviors. Warner Bros. Pictures will distribute, with producing duties going to Joel Silver. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels director Guy Ritchie heads back to the London underworld for this hyperkinetic crime comedy concerning a shady land deal that leaves every schemer in the city determined to get rich or die trying. When a Russian mobster orchestrates a lucrative real estate scam, every criminal in London wants a piece of the action. Greed is the universal language, and everyone from unrelenting crime boss Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson) to street-smart criminal One Two (Gerard Butler), corrupt accountant Stella (Thandie Newton), and unpredictable punk rocker Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell) seem to speak it fluently. As the bullets start to fly and the double crosses multiply, there's no telling who will walk away with the fortune after the gun smoke has cleared. Jeremy Piven, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, and Quantum of Solace Bond girl Gemma Arterton co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, (more)
After learning the secrets of manipulation, graft, and deceit while incarcerated, a recently released ex-convict sets into motion a complex revenge plot against the man who killed his sister-in-law and put him behind bars in maverick director Guy Ritchie's highly stylized crime drama. For seven long years, Jake Green (Jason Statham) has bided his time while learning the rules of the game from a chess master and a top con artist who shared adjacent cells. Macha (Ray Liotta) is the cold and calculated gangster who sent Jake up the river after ruthlessly ending the life of Jake's beloved sister-in-law. When Jake turns up at the casino and humiliates Macha on the floor for all to see, the seething gangster wastes no time in putting a hearty price on his old foe's head. Inexplicably saved from Macha's assassins by a pair who only identify themselves as Avi (Andre Benjamin) and Zach (Vincent Pastore), Jake isn't sure whether to trust his guardian angels or flee from them. The only thing Jake does know for sure is that his thirst for revenge grows stronger every day, and it won't be satisfied until Macha meets his maker. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, (more)
Guy Ritchie, best known for the tough-guy crime comedies Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, goes for a change of pace with this remake of Lina Wertmuller's 1974 comedy-drama, with his wife Madonna in tow. Amber Leighton (Madonna) is the wife of Dr. Anthony Leighton (Bruce Greenwood), the wealthy and successful head of a pharmaceutical company. While Amber seemingly leads a charmed life, it doesn't appear to make her very happy, and she often inflicts her typically foul mood on those around her, especially the hired help. Anthony decides to surprise Amber with a cruise from Italy to Greece, with four of their friends in tow, but Amber doesn't much care for the notion. Amber feels the yacht they've hired is far beneath her standards, and she makes Giuseppe (Adriano Giannini), the first mate of the crew, the primary target of her dissatisfaction. Giuseppe, an ardent leftist, feels nothing but contempt for Amber, but for the sake of his job he can't say a word in response to her attacks. One day, Amber declines an invitation to go diving with her friends, but later changes her mind, demanding that Giuseppe take her to the underwater caves. Giuseppe warns Amber that a storm is brewing, and his prediction proves to be right on the money; soon, Amber and Giuseppe are stranded on a desert island, and suddenly they discover the tables are turned. Giuseppe, a trained fisherman and outdoorsman, knows how to survive on the island, while Amber is utterly helpless, and he forces her to cower under his commands in order to survive; before long, their mutual antagonism has begun to turn into something approaching unfettered lust. Adriano Giannini, who plays Giuseppe, is the son of Giancarlo Giannini, who played the equivalent role in Wertmuller's original film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madonna, Adriano Giannini, (more)
- 2001
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This video single features the controversial video for Madonna's song "What It Feels Like for a Girl." Refused airplay by MTV for what they deemed excessive violence, "What It Feels Like for a Girl" was directed by Guy Ritchie, who helmed the hit action comedies Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch (though he's nearly as well-known for being Madonna's husband). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
The classic Burt Reynolds football-behind-bars flick The Longest Yard crosses the pond and gets an appropriate British accent in the process in this rough-and-tumble mixture of sports and action-comedy. Danny Mehan (Vinnie Jones) was one of the biggest stars in British football (what Americans call soccer), until he was caught rigging a game during a championship tournament. In the wake of this scandal, Danny's career takes a nosedive and his life spins out of control, until he finally ends up in prison for three years on an assault and battery conviction. Danny discovers there are a number of football fans behind bars who still hate him for fixing the game, but Danny has one powerful fan in this prison. The warden (David Hemmings) is a devoted football supporter with a taste for gambling; he's been trying to assemble a semi-pro team comprised of the prison's guards, but Danny is just smart enough to know this would seal his fate with his fellow prisoners. Instead, he offers to put together a team of inmates, who can play practice games against the guards. A new inmate, Sykes (John Forgeham), gets wind of Danny's idea and arranges an exhibition match between Danny's new team and the guards, though Sykes' motivation is more than just good fun. A powerful bookie, Sykes lost a fortune on the game Danny threw, and expects betting to be heavy for this game. If Danny and his men win, Sykes could make back the fortune he lost, but if the guards come out ahead, Danny's goose is cooked. Can Danny turn a gang of losers, misfits, and violent psychopaths -- including muscle-bound lunatic Monk (Jason Statham), creepy but loyal Billy the Limpit (Danny Dyer), tough guy Massive (Vas Blackwood), pyromaniac Nitro (Robbie Gee), and enthusiastic but out-of-shape Raj (Omid Djalili) -- into a proper team with a fighting chance of winning? Mean Machine was produced by Matthew Vaughn, who was also behind Guy Ritchie's tough-but-stylish crime comedies Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. Star Vinnie Jones, by the way, enjoyed a career as a professional footballer in Great Britain before turning to acting. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vinnie Jones, Jason Statham, (more)
Guy Ritchie's sophomore follow-up to his 1998 sleeper hit Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch revisits the previous film's territory of London's crime-ridden underbelly, and does so with the same brand of humor and stylish direction that made Ritchie's first effort a surprise success. With a labyrinthine plot that is ostensibly oriented around a missing diamond, Snatch introduces viewers to three groups of characters intent on retrieving the elusive stone, which has been stolen from an Antwerp jeweler. In the first group are friends and business partners Turkish (Jason Statham, who also supplies the film's voice-over narration) and Tommy (Stephen Graham), who join up with Mickey (Brad Pitt), an Irish gypsy and boxer. Turkish and Tommy make arrangements with Mickey to take a fall in a match engineered by lunatic gang leader Brick Top (Alan Ford). In another corner resides equally loony Russian gangster Boris the Blade (Rade Sherbedgia), who has asked Jewish gangster Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) to place a bet on the match for him. Boris is also scheming to have Sol (Lennie James), the owner of a pawn shop, rob the place with a couple of dim associates. Meanwhile, Avi (Dennis Farina), freshly arrived in London from New York, hires Bullet Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones) to find Franky when he goes missing; it seems that it was none other than Franky who was supposed to be transporting the purloined diamond to New York. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, (more)
- 1998
- R
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British writer Guy Ritchie made his feature directorial debut with this crime-caper comedy-drama set in London's East End and heavy on the Cockney dialogue (with one scene in subtitled Cockney rhyming slang). A big-bucks scheme goes awry: Cardsharp Eddy (Nick Moran) and pals Bacon (Jason Statham), Tom (Jason Flemyng), and Soap (Dexter Fletcher) scuffle to pile up enough money to put Eddy at the card table opposite gangland porn lord Hatchet Harry (P.H. Moriarty). Unfortunately, the whole plan backfires, leaving Eddy owing Harry a huge sum, payable within the week. In truth, Harry hopes to acquire the bar run by his rival, J.D. (Sting), who is Eddy's father. To raise the cash, Eddy sets out to steal from a marijuana business run by Winston (Steven Mackintosh), but the inevitable gunplay doesn't make for an easy heist. World premiere at the 1998 Edinburgh Film Festival (Focus on British Cinema). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, (more)
